One of the greatest political novels in any language, Nostromo re-enacts the establishment of modern capitalism in a remote South American province. A vivid cast of characters is caught up in a civil war to decide whether its fabulously wealthy silver mine can be preserved from the hands of venal politicians. Greed and corruption seep into the lives of everyone, and Nostromo, the principled foreman of the mine, is tested to the limit. Joseph Conrad’s evocation of Latin America – its grand landscapes, the ferocity of its politics, and the tenacity of individuals swept up in imperial ambitions – is remarkable.